a purpose for worship

the second week of the wonderful class that i am taking had more intriguing articles. yay! and here are a few quotes that i have been pondering the past couple of days.

"God is not threatened; rather He is immeasurably saddened by false worship. When people worship anyone or anything besides Him, they become like it. God has better intentions for people." -- Steven C. Hawthorne

and the well-known quote from John Piper: "Missions exists because worship doesn't."

"We will not bring the kingdom or build the kingdom, but our privilege is to live out previews of 'coming attractions,' revealing what this kingdom will look like." -- Tim Dearborn

one idea which i have been pondering is motivation for mission. motivation for how we live and what we focus on, not just mission. if our motivation has to do with people, we will be disappointed. because people are sinful and selfish and make mistakes. (everyone -- including ourselves!) if our motivation has to do with our own selfish desires, we will probably not last very long. but .. if our motivation comes from a deeper, wider, bigger purpose .. then it just might be possible for us to stay involved exactly where we are. if our internal motivation is based on the One who is stable, we will have the capacity to face external challenges. and being invited to participate in the plan of God is much more exciting than making my own plan anyway! :)